Well tools



June 4, 1968 E. L. POTTS WELL TOOLS Filed July 26, 1965 i a m 5 sheets-sheet 1 June 4, 1968 E. L. POTTS 3,386,701

WELL TOOLS Filed July 26, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ERA/571. H9776 v INVENTOR. 1;}, M

June 4, 1968 L, PoTTs 3,386,701

WELL TOOLS Filed July 26. 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet :5

fiz- W A rrokuixs United States Patent 3,386,701 WELL TOOLS Ernest L. Potts, Houston, Tex., assignor to Brown Oil Tools, Inc., Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed July 26, 1965, Ser. No. 474,812 Claims. (Cl. 251-229) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A valve device adapted to be connected in a tubing string and including a mandrel, a body rotationally connected to the mandrel, a valve seat, a valve and a sleeve adapted to be moved longitudinally by relative rotation of said mandrel and body and connected to position said valve on said seat. This abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application which, of course, is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

The present invention relates to a valve device adapted to be connected in a tubing string in a well bore which can be opened and closed by manipulation of the tubing string at the surface of the well bore.

In such valve devices for installation in a tubing string a particular need has been to be able to supply sutficient force to the device to actuate it under all conditions encountered in a well bore.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a valve device for a tubing string which is operable under conditions in a well bore by manipulation of the tubing string at the surface.

Another object is to provide a valve device for a tubing string in a well bore which can be positively operated from the surface of the well bore.

A further object is to provide an improved ball valve structure for installation on a tubing string in a well bore which has sufiicient mechanical leverage to be operated from the surface under all conditions existing in the well bore.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved tubing valve device for use in a well bore operated by rotation of the tubing at the surface and having stops at its full open and full closed positions.

A still further object is to provide an improved tubing ball valve for use in a well bore which is opened by rotation of the tubing at the surface in one direction and is closed by rotation of the tubing in the opposite direction.

Another object is to provide a ball valve for use in a tubing string in a well bore having a seat which is resiliently urged against the ball valve at all times to provide an initial seal and to compensate for variations in the dimensions of parts of the device due to machining tolerances.

These and other objects of the present invention are hereinafter more clearly set forth and explained in relation to the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the valve device of the present invention showing the valve in open position.

FIGURE 2 is another partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the device of FIGURE 1 showing the valve partially closed.

FIGURE 3 is a similar view of the device of FIGURE 1 showing the valve completely closed.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View of the device taken along lines 4-4 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view of the device taken along lines 5-5 in FIGURE 1.

Patented June 4, 1968 FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of the device taken along lines 6-6 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of the device taken along lines 7-7 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view of the device taken along lines 8-8 in FIGURE 3.

The device of the present invention. as illustrated in the drawings is provided with a top connection 10 which is a suitable coupling or other device to threadedly engage with the tubing string 11 and also to engage the upper end of the mandrel or tubular member 12. The top cap 13 surrounds the upper portion of the mandrel 12 and is threadedly engaged with the body or tubular member 14 which extends downwardly into engagement with the bottom connection 15. The tubing string 16 below the valve device of the present invention is threadedly connected to the bottom connection 15.

Suitable roller bearings 17 and 18 are provided to allow rotation of the mandrel 12 with respect to the top cap 13 and body 14. This rotation will be accomplished under all normal conditions in a well bore by providing an anchor or packer in the lower tubing string 16. With the setting of the anchor means (not shown) below the device, the direct threaded connection of the body through the bottom of the body 14 and the bottom connection 15 through the tubing string will restrain the body 14 from moving and ailow rotational movement of the mandrel 12 with respect thereto by rotation of the tubing string at the surface of the well bore.

The lower portion of the mandrel 12 is provided with both internal and external threads. The external threads 19 on the lower portion of the mandrel are preferably righthand type Acme threads while the internal threads 20 are left-hand type Acme threads. Such Acme threads are used because they have less friction than the other thread forms used in the device and in connecting the tubing string and will therefore be actuated by the rotation of the tubing string.

The outside driver or sleeve 21 is threadedly engaged with the external threads 19 and positioned immediately i inside of the body 14 in sliding engagement therewith to move responsive to the rotational movement of the mandrel 12. The inside driver or sleeve 22 threadedly engages the internal threads 26 on the lower portion of the mandrel 12. As best seen in FIGURE 4, the pin 23 is secured as by welding in body 14 and extends through a slot 21a in the outside driver, through a slot 24a in the support sleeve 24 and into the slot 25 in the inside driver As can be seen by comparison of the FIGURES l, 2 and 3, right-hand or clockwise rotation of the tubing string and the mandrel 12 with the body 14 held stationary will cause the inside driver 22 to move downwardly and the outside driver 21 to move upwardly which, as hereinafter explained, will move the valve member 26 to its closed position on the seat 27 while opposite rotation of the tubing string 11 and the mandrel 12 will open the valve member by causing the outside driver 21 to move downwardly and the inside driver 22 to move upwardly. Thus, the drivers 21 and 22 are the actuating means by which the valve member 26 is opened and closed responsive to relative rotation of the mandrel 12 and the body 14.

The support sleeve 24 is provided with a slot 28 which receives the upper projection 29 on the follower 30. The projection 29 is engaged by the lower end of the inside driver 22. The follower 30 extends downwardly in sliding engagement with the inner surface of the body 14 through a suitable guide slot in the cage guide 31 and engages the valve member 26. The follower 32 engages the lower side of the outside driver 21 at its upper extremity and extends downwardly through a suitable guide slot in the cage 31 into engagement with the valve member 26. The followers 39 and 32 are the means which move the valve member 26 responsive to movement of the drivers 21 and 22. Movement of the followers 30 and 32 will cause the valve member 26 to rotate on its seat from open position to closed position and back again.

The seat 27 is provided with a suitable seal means 33 for sealing against the valve member 26 and seal means 34- to seal against the interior of body 14. Ports 35 extend through the seat 27 at various positions from its inner bore to its outer periphery to vent the area at its outer periphery when it moves. As shown, the seat 27 is provided with a downward projecting portion 36. Resilient means, such as the spring 37, is positioned between the shoulder 38 on the interior of bottom connection 15 and the depending portion 36 of the seat 27 to urge the seat upwardly into engagement with the valve member 26. The ring 39 is provided between the underside of the seat 27 and the upper end of the bottom connection 15 to properly space the seat so that proper seal is maintained when the valve member 26 is closed. The spring 37 urges the seat 27 upwardly and will have sufiicient force to provide an initial seal when the valve member 26 is closed. The spring 37 will therefore assure sealing of valve member 26 on the seat 27 whenever it is closed and will thereby compensate for dimensional variations in the parts of the device due to machining tolerances and the like.

The cage guide 31, as illustrated in FIGURE 6, is provided with the slots in which the followers 30 and 32 are free to slide. Further, the cage 31 is provided with the slots MI in which the pins 41 engage to prevent the cage guide 31 from rotating. The pins 41 extend through and are secured to the body 14. The interior of body 14 is provided with a downwardl facing shoulder 42 which provides an upper limit to the movement of followers 39 and 32 by engagement with the upwardly facing shoulder 43 on the follower 3t and the upwardly facing shoulder 44 on the follower 32.

As shown in FIGURES 1 through 3 and FIGURE 7, the valve member 26 is positioned within the body 14 and is generally spherical having a passageway 45 eX- tending through the valve member 25. The exterior of valve member 26 at both sides is provided with grooves 46 and 47 into which the pins 48 and 49 extend. The pins 48 and 49 are secured in the body 14 by suitable means and allow the valve member 26 to be pivoted therearound, as shown in the drawings.

The upper surface th of the seat 27 provides a stop for the downward movement of the followers 36 and 32. It is shown in FIGURE 1 that the follower 32 is engaged with the surface St of the seat 27 and, therefore, cannot further rotate the valve member 26 about the pins 48 and 49. With reference to the follower 30, it is shown abutting against the surface 56 of the seat 27 and such position will hold the valve member 26 in position completely closing the flow passage through the seat 27. In both instances, the upper surface 50 provides a stop means for the downward movement of the followers 30 and 32 and thereby stops the rotation of the valve member 26 at full open or full closed position.

The cage guide 31 is positioned having its under surface 51 in engagement with the outer surface of the valve member 26 to provide an upper guide for the rotation of valve member 26 from open to closed position by movement of the followers 30 and 32.

In operation the valve device of the persent invention will normally be in the position illustrated in FIGURE 1 with the passageway 45 through the valve member 26 in alignment with the passageway through the mandrel 12 whereby flow through the device is relatively unrestricted. When it is desired to close the valve device of the present invention, it is first necessary too set an anchor device (not shown) in the tubing string 16 below the device. With the tubing string 16 anchored into position so that it will not rotate, the tubing string 11 at the surface of the well bore in which the device has been run will be rotated clockwise or to the right. This will allow mandrel 12 to be rotated with respect to the body 14. The engagement of the threads 19 on the mandrel 12 will cause the outside driver 21 to be lifted upwardly and the inside driver 22 to move downwardly, each driver being pinned by the pin 23 to the body 14 to prevent it from rotating with the mandrel 12. The downward movement of the inside driver 22 causes the lower end to engage the projection 29 of the follower 3:? and to move the follower 3t) downwardly through the guide slot in the cage guide 31 and to push against the valve member 26 which will cause the valve member 26 to be rotated about the pins 48 and 49. The rotation of the valve member 26 will cause follower 32 to be lifted and slide upwardly with outside driver 21- In FIGURE 2, the valve member 26 is illustrated as being partially closed and, as seen from the upper part of FIGURE 2, the mandrel has been rotated sufficiently with respect to its position in FIGURE 1 to raise the outside driver 21 approximately half way to its uppermost position and to lower the inside driver approximately half way to its lowermost position.

Continued rotation of the mandrel 12 will cause the inside driver 22 to continue to move downwardly, moving the follower downwardly and rotating the valve member 26 about the pins 48 and 49 until the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 is reached. In this position, the lower surface of the follower 30 will be in engagement with the inner walls of the valve member 26 defining the passageway and the upper surface on the valve seat 27. Inthis position, valve member 26 will not be further rotated and, therefore, the upper surface 50 provides a stop on the downward movement of the follower 38 to position the valve as shown in FIGURE 3 in its fully closed position.

When it is desired to open the valve member 26, it is only necessary to rotate the tubing 11 in a counterclockwise or left-hand direction. Such rotation lowers the outside driver 21 and raises the inside driver 22 with the movement of the components progressing from the position as shown in FIGURE 3 to the position as shown in FIGURE 2 and then to the original position illustrated in FIGURE 1. The downward movement of the outside driver 21 forces the follower 32 downwardly. The downward movement of the follower 32 is exerted against the valve member 26 at a point offset from the center line of the pins 48 and 42 causing the valve member 26 to rotate toward open position. Such rotation of the valve member 26 will also lift the follower 3%. Continued rotation of the mandrel 12 will move the outside driver 21 and its follower 32 downwardly until the lower end of the follower 32 is in engagement with the upper surface 56 on the valve seat. In such position it also is in engagement with the valve member 26 and holds such valve member 26 in position whereby the passage 45 therethrough is in alignment with the remainder of the device allowing flow through the device to be unrestricted by the valve member 26. Therefore, the upper surface 50 of the valve seat 27 provides a stop positively positioning the valve member 26 in 'its fully open position by limiting the downward movement of the follower 32 and also positions the valve member 26 in its closed position by stopping the downward movement of the follower 30.

From the foregoing it can be seen that the present invention provides a valve device to be installed in a tubing string in a well bore which is operable under all conditions in the well bore by manipulation of the tubing string at the surface and which provides a positive stop in movement to position the valve device in its full open or closed position. The valve device of the present invention also has sufiicient mechanical leverage to allow it to be operated even under extreme conditions. Further, the seat of the device is resiliently urged against the valve member to provide an initial seal on closing of the valve member.

What is claimed is:

1. A valve device adapted to be connected in a tubing string to open and close the flow passage through said tubing string comprising,

a mandrel,

a body,

means connecting said body and said mandrel whereby they may be rotated with respect to each other and remain connected,

a first driver sleeve surrounding said mandrel and in threaded engagement therewith,

means connecting said first sleeve to said body whereby said first sleeve is held against rotation relative to said body and allowed to move longitudinally with respect to said body,

a second driver sleeve in threaded engagement within said mandrel,

means connecting said second sleeve to said body whereby said second sleeve is held against rotation relative to said body and allowed to move longitudinally with respect to said body,

a valve seat in said body,

a ball valve engaging said valve seat,

a ball guide within said body and engaging portions of said ball valve,

means securing said ball valve to said body whereby said ball valve is rotatively secured thereto,

means connecting said first sleeve to said ball valve whereby rotation of said mandrel with respect to said body moves said first sleeve longitudinally of said body and said ball valve is rotated about said securing means, and

means connecting said second sleeve to said ball valve whereby rotation of said mandrel with respect to said body moves said second sleeve longitudinally of said body and rotates said ball valve about said securing means.

2. A valve device according to claim 1 including,

means resiliently urging said valve seat against said ball valve to provide initial sealing between said ball valve and said seat.

3. A valve device according to claim 1 wherein,

said valve seat includes a seal means adapted to contact and seal against said ball valve and a seal means adapted to seal between said valve seat and body.

4. A valve device according to claim 1 wherein,

said ball guide includes a pair of guide slots to receive each of said connecting means to thereby assure that the longitudinal movement of said connecting means rotates said ball valve.

5. A valve device according to claim 1 wherein,

said valve seat includes an upwardly facing surface positioned in the path of movement of said connecting means to provide a stop of their movement to assure full open or closed positioning of said ball valve on said valve seat.

6. A valve device adapted to be connected in a tubing string to open and close the flow passage through said tubular string comprising,

a mandrel,

a body rotationally connected to said mandrel,

a valve seat within said device,

a valve member adjacent said valve seat and adapted to engage said valve seat and in one position close said valve seat to close the flow passage through said device,

means within said device for moving said valve member responsive to relative rotation between said mandrel and said body whereby said valve member controls fiow through said valve seat.

'7. A valve device according to claim 6 wherein said moving means includes,

at least one driver sleeve having connections to said mandrel and said body whereby relative rotation between said mandrel and said body will move said driver sleeve longitudinally of said device, and

a follower extending from said driver sleeve to said valve member whereby movement of said driver sleeve is transmitted to said valve member.

8. A valve device according to claim 7 wherein said valve seat provides a stop surface engaging said follower at a point in its movement when said valve member is fully closed to stop further movement of said driver sleeve.

9. A valve device according to claim 7 wherein,

said valve member is spherical in shape and pivots about two opposite pins engaging said valve member on its sides, and including a cage guide having a surface engaging said valve member to allow said valve member to be rotated to closed position on said valve seat,

said cage guide also having a guide slot through which the driver sleeve follower extends to engage said valve member.

16. A valve device according to claim 7 including,

means resiliently urging said valve seat against said valve member to provide an initial seal therebctween on movement of said valve member to closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,974,922 3/1961 Keithahn 25l-348 X HENRY T. KLINKSIEK, Primary Examiner. 

